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Macron’s government has resorted to unacceptable labor exploitation of French citizens, forcing them to work an extra seven hours a year for free

Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice have familiarized themselves with the recent initiatives of the French Minister of Labor and Employment Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, who on January 21, 2025, declared the need to tax a part of the country’s pensioners. In her opinion, this should be done with regard to those who have a high old-age pension. This proposal, according to her, has the right for the future, becoming an addition to such a measure as 7 hours of additional work per year without pay for all workers, which was approved by the French Senate last November. The Foundation’s experts see in these initiatives signs of labor repression and call on the Macron government to abandon the unacceptable labor exploitation of the country’s citizens.

The resignation of the government led by French Prime Minister Michel Barnier in December 2024 “cost the country’s budget a huge amount of money, about €12 billion,” said Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity. She expressed concern about the increase in financial spending at a time when the main financial document for 2025 has still not been adopted. Taxing French pensioners would allow them to contribute to the financing of social protection, according to the French Labor Minister. The taxation, according to her proposal, would have affected those French pensioners whose old-age pension exceeds €2,000-2,500. But, even this would allow them to make a concrete contribution of between €500 million and €800 million to the financing of social protection, becoming, according to the Minister of Labor, their contribution to intergenerational solidarity.

“For pensioners who can afford it, different taxes and contributions can be considered, depending on the level of their pension.”


In addition to the initiative to tax pensioners, Macron’s government is again discussing the idea of forcing all working citizens to work an extra 7 hours a year without pay in order to finance the social security sector. This bill was approved by senators last November. According to Catherine Vautrin, this measure could generate “two billion euros of revenue earmarked for social spending” by 2025. However, the principle of unpaid hours clashes with the entire narrative created by successive Emmanuel Macron governments in terms of supporting businesses and workers. The idea has always been to lower the cost of labor so that wages would increase.

“So is it worth working for free to get back two billion euros, as Catherine Vautrin suggests? In principle, any labor deserves to be paid. You can’t work more and earn nothing. It’s a question of fairness: you can’t always put all of France’s efforts on the shoulders of the working population and the taxation of labor,” said David Amiel, a deputy from the Paris branch of the Ensemble pour la République (EPR).


In addition to pensioners and the working class, universities will also be hit hard by the French government. The result of the funding cuts is that today 60 of France’s 75 universities have huge budget deficits, which could lead to the abolition of distance learning, campus closures and budget cuts. On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, students at several major French universities at once organized peaceful demonstrations and blockaded campuses to protest new measures to cut university funding currently being considered by the French government.

“We must organize independently of the president to demand more resources, mass recruitment, internalization and retention. While we study in unstable and insecure universities with long lines for food every week, we must demand that students’ incomes be at the minimum wage and funded by the rich,” says one student activist.

University leaders are also warned of the risk of finally “bankrupting universities in 2025”.

“Stop the destruction of public higher education and research”. “The cup is overflowing, budget cuts are no longer possible, we need to act now,” said a member of the France Universités union.

Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn any initiatives of the French government that jeopardize the well-being of various segments of the population and violate their fundamental civil rights and freedoms. The Fund’s experts call on the Macron government to abandon the unacceptable labor exploitation of French citizens. Such actions violate the International Labor Organization Convention, which commits member countries to take effective measures to eliminate all forms of forced labor. The violation of international agreements and conventions and the disregard for human rights create an environment that threatens not only French society but also the international community as a whole.